1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a housing-piston assembly for a coupling device, especially a wet-running multi-plate clutch or a bridging clutch of a hydrodynamic coupling device, where the piston is attached to a housing by connecting elements in such a way that it has a certain freedom of movement and rivets are provided as fastening elements between the piston and the connecting elements and/or between the connecting elements and the housing, a support element for use in a housing-piston assembly of this type, an auxiliary device for riveting a housing-piston assembly of this type, and a method for assembling a housing-piston assembly of this type, in which, in a first step, the connecting elements are provided on one of the two assemblies, i.e., either on the piston or on the housing and, in a second step, the connecting elements are riveted to the other assembly, i.e., to the housing or to the piston.
2. Description of the Related Art
A housing-piston assembly of the type indicated above and a corresponding assembly method are disclosed in the international publication WO 99/01683 and in the corresponding DE 198 81 000 T1. These publications pertain to a hydrodynamic torque converter, which comprises a torque converter with a turbine wheel and a pump wheel in the interior of a sealed, oil-filled housing and a lockable clutch, wherein, by means of the lockable clutch, the turbine wheel can be mechanically connected nonrotatably to the pump wheel. The housing, which rotates during operation, forms the input element of the torque converter, whereas a hub, which is connected nonrotatably to the turbine wheel, forms the output element of the torque converter. To actuate the lockable clutch, a piston is provided, which is connected nonrotatably to the housing, which serves as a counterpiston, and is designed so that it has a certain freedom of axial movement with respect to the housing. The nonrotatable connection between the piston and the housing is accomplished by means of connecting elements, which are designed as leaf spring-like tongues. These leaf spring-like tongues are connected by rivets both to the piston and to the housing. The riveting can proceed in such a way that the tongues are riveted to the housing first, e.g., by means of rivet pins which have already been formed on the housing. So that the tongues can then be riveted to the piston, the rivets being used for the purpose must be accessible on both sides, so that the riveting tool and the holder-up can be brought into position. For this purpose, access holes, which are closed off by a plug after the riveting, are provided in the housing. If, conversely, the tongues are riveted to the piston first and then to the housing in the second step, corresponding access holes are provided in the piston, which can also be closed off after riveting by means of plugs.
In either case, therefore, after the actual riveting, an additional work step is required, namely, the insertion of plugs into the access holes. Similarly, these holes must be provided appropriately during the production of the housing or of the piston such as by the introduction of bores. The possibility cannot be excluded, furthermore, that the strength of the structures might be impaired by the holes which must be provided or even that leaks can result.